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The Juvenile Justice Committee of the American Bar Association's Criminal Justice Section announced that the 20th Annual Livingston Hall Juvenile Justice Award will go to Steve Drizin, legal director of the Center on Wrongful Convictions at Northwestern University School of Law, and Robert Shepherd, professor emeritus at the University of Richmond's T.C. Williams School of Law and long-standing member and past chair of the Juvenile Justice Committee. The awards, which recognize the contributions of individuals dedicated to protecting children in the justice system, will be presented in a ceremony on Sunday, Aug. 7, during the ABA Annual Meeting in Chicago.

"It is exceedingly appropriate that we are able to present this honor to two pillars in the juvenile justice community on the Award's 20th anniversary," said Wallace Mlyniec, co-chair of the Juvenile Justice Committee. "Both of these advocates have been and continue to be institutions in the juvenile justice arena at the national, state and local level."

Prior to his recent appointment as legal director of the Center on Wrongful Convictions, Drizin was assistant director of the Bluhm Legal Clinic and a supervising attorney for the Children and Family Justice Center. Through his work for children, Drizin has become a national expert on the issue of false confessions by juveniles. His work has led to greater protections for youth in police stations, including mandatory videotaping of police interrogations, parental presence, and the right to counsel for youth. Drizin has also participated in a number of significant legal cases and published law review articles and position papers. He has also been a frequent contributing expert to national, state and local media on juvenile and criminal justice issues. Former Livingston Award recipients at Northwestern Law include clinic director Tom Geraghty, clinical assistant professor Simmie Baer, and Law School alum Diane Geraghty (JD '72).

Shepherd is currently a professor emeritus at the University of Richmond School of Law, and Reporter of Decisions for the Court of Appeals of Virginia. Over the course of his career, he has contributed to the ABA by serving as past chair of the Juvenile Justice Committee and editor of the Institute of Judicial Administration–American Bar Association Juvenile Justice Standards, and he also helped draft Virginia's Juvenile Code. Shepherd's work has been recognized by the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges, the National Association of Counsel for Children, and the Virginia State Bar, among many others.

Judge Ernestine Gray, former Juvenile Justice Committee co-chair and current Criminal Justice Council member, expressed her admiration for both recipients, "The legal and policy work of both Steve and Bob has significantly advanced juvenile justice advocacy and the rights of youth in this country."

With more than 400,000 members, the American Bar Association is the largest voluntary professional membership organization in the world. As the national voice of the legal profession, the ABA works to improve the administration of justice, promotes programs that assist lawyers and judges in their work, accredits law schools, provides continuing legal education, and works to build public understanding around the world of the importance of the rule of law in a democratic society.

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